


Mean Look

by sugarblossom



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-21
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:03:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21885664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarblossom/pseuds/sugarblossom
Summary: A foreigner who's a ball of sunshine and a gym leader whose entire life is dedicated to punk rock. Unlikely duo, right?
Relationships: Nezu | Piers & Satoshi | Ash Ketchum, Satoshi | Ash Ketchum & Satoshi's Pikachu | Ash Ketchum's Pikachu
Comments: 18
Kudos: 198





	Mean Look

Ash tilted his head curiously as the lights flickered overhead, reaching forward and touching the graffiti on the walls and staring at the posters with Team Yell’s logo on them. “Wow, what happened to this town?”

“Oi, Welcome to Spikemuth, kid! Hope yer ready for the Gym mission!” a Team Yell member exclaimed, to which Ash blinked.

“Oh, I’m not taking the Gym Challenge right now. I’m just checking the town out.” The Team Yell member blinked and nodded with furrowed eyebrows. “Um… Is there a problem? Or can I go on?” The person shook their head, gesturing for Ash to go on. Strangely, all the rest of the Team Yell members didn’t bother Ash as he waltzed down the street, only staring at him from the alleyways.

Even when the lights got dimmer and dimmer, Ash continued farther and farther into the city without worry. Some of the strangers roaming the town stared at Ash, but he didn’t pay them any attention, only absentmindedly patting Pikachu’s back. Until… A stranger with a dangerous aura came hurtled towards them in the dark.

Ash tried to get out of the way, scrambling blindly, but was still slammed to the ground as they ran into him. Pikachu flew off Ash’s shoulder with a sharp chirp.

“Watch where you’re going!” they hissed down at Ash, who sat up and glanced around for Pikachu. “Are you paying attention to me?” Pikachu hopped next to Ash and was scooped up as Ash got back up. “Listen to me! You should be more careful of where you’re going! I could have gotten hurt because of you!” Ash chuckled as Pikachu turned up his nose, scampering back onto his shoulder. “Oh you rude little- You’re probably just a nobody!” the stranger growled at Ash, who only crossed his arms and smiled. “A worthless, weak loser with no friends or achievements-” Pikachu’s ears twitched.

“Is there a problem here?”

The two humans both turned to see a man with spiky black and white hair, clutching a microphone stand. Ash and Pikachu both blinked as the first person scowled, running back through the town, muttering, “Such a weird freak.” 

“They depended too much on Dynamaxing,” the man commented, towering over the two. “And it cost them the match.” Ash glanced at the logo on the man’s shirt, before tilting his head. So this is the supposed “evil” team boss? Pikachu sweatdropped, matching Ash’s thoughts.

“What’s Dynamaxing?” Ash asked, not expecting an answer.

“...Dynamaxin’ is a totally unnecessary pokemon transformation popular in the region.” The man’s hair swayed as he turned back around, and the duo blinked. “If you don’t even know that, you don’t know who I am either?” Ash and Pikachu shook their heads in unison. “Uh… The name’s Piers, 7th gym leader of the gym challenge. See, I’m… I’m not a great gym leader. My younger sister Marnie? She's got way more talent than me.” 

Ash glanced back at Pikachu, before staring at Piers. “Well, thank you for coming over here.”

“It was nothin’. I just heard the ruckus. This is a simple gym stadium after all. We can’t even Dynamax our pokemon. Figured that’s why nobody was comin’ to the town.” Piers glanced back down the poorly-lit street.

“Eh, that guy’s just a sore loser. It’s nice to meet you! I’m Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, and this is my partner Pikachu!” Ash introduced with a grin, Pikachu giving his usual greeting chirp, hopping up and down on Ash’s shoulder.

Piers gave a small laugh, shaking his head. “That’s a first. Well, it’s clear you aren’t here for the gym challenge, so how can I help you?” Ash froze, glancing at Pikachu with a blank expression before shrugging. “... You just came here? Because of what?”

“Well, I’m not taking the gym challenge, but I wanted to check out all the gym cities...” Like someone trying to balance the light switch between on and off, the lights above them flickered. Cheeks sparking, Pikachu snuggled closer to Ash. Piers glanced away, before nodding.

“That’s reasonable.” Ash tilted his head, following Piers onto his stadium, staring at all the Team Yell members around them. “...What do you want, kid?” Pikachu’s tail twitched and stiffened, but he didn’t show any hostility.

Ash overheard a member muttering, “Spikemuth just keeps gettin’ worse and worse, yet all Piers says is ‘Don’t worry’... How long can we keep doin’ this?”

“Can I pay you back?” Ash asked, meeting Piers’s eyes while running a hand over Pikachu’s fluffy head. “For defending me back there, that is.”

“...Don’t take pity on us.” Piers walked up the stairs onto the stage, staring down at Ash. “Feel free to get outta here. If you don’t, I hope you enjoy the concert.”

Ash’s grin beamed brighter than the entire city as he nodded to Pikachu. “Looks like they’re the opposite of Kaz and Yas.” Pikachu gave a small coo, pointing to Piers as he started singing. “Mhm, it would be quite ironic indeed.” They watched the Team Yell members cheer for Piers, and joined in.

A few hours later... “Woo, way to go! Those songs are so cool!” Ash and Pikachu both yelled as Piers finished his last song, not caring about the weird looks they’re getting from the few members still left.

“...You’re still here.”

Ash shrugged, and Pikachu patted his cheek with a grin. “Do you want me to leave-”

Piers walked down the stairs, leaving his microphone on the stage. “No, no, why do you insist on bein’ here? You said you wanted to see all the gym cities, and... There are better places to spend your time, kid.”

“Because you’re an interesting guy, Piers!” Pikachu also chirped in agreement.

Piers’s cyan eyes widened for a moment before rubbing at his shoulder. “Marnie’s more interestin’ than me. Why don’t you go find her? In fact, I’m gonna go watch her battle in the league right now.” Like flipping a switch, the Team Yell members all cheered, chanting Marnie’s name. 

Ash’s and Pikachu’s grin softened. “You’re a good one too.” Before Piers could even process what Ash said, Ash exclaimed, “Sure thing! I’ll go with you!”

Pikachu also squeaked in excitement, pumping his fists. “...Is this still about how we met? You can’t be serious.” Ash hopped ahead while Piers walked after him.

Smile wavering, Ash sighed, “I am serious. Can’t I just… be friends with you? I wanna help this town!”

“Wh-I’m sorry? You have no ties to this town-”

“Do I need to?” Pikachu’s ears twitched as he sparked at Piers.

Piers shook his head. “No, ‘course not, but that’s the only reason I can think of why you...” Ash chuckled as Pikachu blinked, ears perking up towards the people around.

“I don’t see the problem then. I’m just following your example!” He whirled around Piers, grin bright. “You’ve got a mean look about you, but you’re a nice dude, Piers.” At Piers’s stare, Ash shrugged. “You try to reassure everyone when things are going bad, you hold genuine rock concerts to cheer them up because there’s no fancy stadium, and you really love your sister!”

“Huh.” Piers glanced back at the flickering lights before stepping out of the town. “I’ve never heard someone put it like that before.” Ash watched him run a hand through his hair with a sad smile, stiffening as Pikachu narrowed his eyes.

“That’s their loss, of course.” As if on cue, a few people stared between Ash and Piers, double-taking as Piers gave Ash a small smile.

Ash smiled back, tilting his head as the people around hissed, “Who’s that? What a freak if he’s sticking around that guy. Can’t he see who that person is? Just look at what he wears! He’s probably some loser the guy hired to make himself look better.”

Pikachu nodded to Ash, who had a sweet grin on his face as he walked up to one of the strangers. “Hello there, anything you want to tell me?”

“Are you really that desperate?” they whispered, side-eyeing Piers with distrust. “There are better ways to make money-”

Ash bit back a laugh, grin widening as Pikachu hissed in their face. “I probably have more money than you do.” He crossed his arms, tilting his head. “I’ve entered 7 leagues, getting in top 16 or higher each and every time.” The stranger stared at him as he shrugged and glanced back at Piers for a moment. “These clothing are more valuable and frankly, more comfortable than store-bought ones.”

“But why are you hanging around that freak-”

“Judging by appearances again, hm? Negative thoughts are normal, but your negative comments and actions aren’t.” Ash’s smile turned bitter for a split second, and Pikachu looked like he was about to jump at the stranger any second. Piers met Ash’s eyes and shook his head, pulling a grinning Ash away from the stranger. Pikachu stuck his tongue out at them. “He’s not weak either, you know! There’s nothing wrong with-”

“Kid, kid. Let it go already,” Piers calmly said. “It’s not worth the effort.”

Ash pouted, before sighing, stroking Pikachu’s tail to comfort himself. “I know…”

Piers patted Ash’s shoulder. “Not everyone’s goin’ to like you no matter how hard you try, so why waste time?”

Eyes gleaming, Ash cheered, “Yeah! Just keep being yourself!” Blinking slowly, Piers rolled his shoulders and walked off, Ash right after him. “It’s brave of you to embrace your uniqueness, Piers!” Cooing in agreement, Pikachu rubbed his tail against Ash’s cheek.

“Hey you!” Piers didn’t even react. “You finally came out of that… place!” someone yelled out with a smile plastered on their face. “Shouldn’t you be fundraising for your town? Stop singing those songs of yours and actually get a better stadium!”

Ash met their smile with a cold grin of his own, dodging the people as they parted away from Piers until they were the only two people walking along in the area. “Not everyone is like this,” Piers murmured. To Ash and Pikachu or to himself? Pikachu sighed, nuzzling Ash’s cheek as he wilted.

“But you’re still hurt by their comments.”

Piers shook his head. “Nah, they’re right-”

“What? About what?” Ash and Pikachu both asked in unison. Eyes glancing to the side, Ash raised his eyebrow, before staring down at the ground. “You don’t even seem to like battling as a gym leader, even when you’re…”

“Marnie doesn’t want to be the gym leader until after this league. So until then, all I can do is keep rockin' with my crew and make sure Spikemuth stays lively!” Piers’s eyes flickered with conflict. “They just like different styles of music-”

“Everyone has their own styles, but no one style is better than the others!” Ash threw his hands up, before unconsciously patting Pikachu’s head, eliciting pleased chirps from his starter. “This isn’t right. You’ve got a passion for songwriting. People shouldn’t put you down about something that makes you happy! There’s no wrong way to write songs! Just as there is no wrong way to create art!” Shrugging, Ash glanced back at Piers. “Keep performing, Piers. You’re not measured by how people react to you.”

After a moment of silence, Piers admitted, “Maybe I should stop. It’s not like people gain anythin’ from my songs.”

Ash choked out a laugh, before smoothing his expression out. “You bring the cheer and support the town needs.” He side-eyed Piers. “I know how you feel, shouldering the responsibility of a withering world. I learned the hard way that you’re not responsible for other people’s actions. Their emotions or thoughts.” Piers watched Ash smile, playing with Pikachu’s ears. “It just shows you love your town.”

“Not enough.”

“But you are enough. You’ve always been enough.” Piers stared at Ash as he continued, “You may think your songs are not good enough, but that’s because you made it.” He flushed a bit. “Ok that sounded mean, I’m so sorry. What I’m saying is, of course you don’t like your own creations, you’ve probably done so much that it doesn’t seem exciting to yourself! That’s a problem other people don’t have! And self-expectations are almost always the harshest.” Pikachu tilted his head, meeting Ash’s eyes with a reassuring chirp.

“You sound like you have experience.”

Ash nodded, raising the shoulder with Pikachu on it. “...It’s one thing to listen to people insulting you, but believe me when I say I felt guilty for not winning for my pokemon.” Piers’s eyes widened.

“Oh yeah, you’re a battler. An impressive one too, if what you said back then was true.” He sighed. “And after you see Dynamaxin’, you’ll Dynamax too. Marnie did so.”

“You love your sister that much, huh? Look, that doesn’t make your views any less valid. If anything, it just proves how honourable and authentic your battles are! In fact, since you have this limit, it means that you work harder to overcome it! Kinda like Pikachu and me!” Pikachu gave a loud chirp, waving.

“...Why do you keep Pikachu out anyways?”

“He doesn’t like his pokeball. I know you need to return your pokemon to Dynamax them, so if there’s no other way, I’m not using Dynamaxing on him.” Pikachu chirped, nuzzling Ash’s cheek as he grinned. “Besides, we’ve got other tricks up our sleeves!”

“No doubt, if you got so far in 7 leagues- Wait, you’re...”

Ash dipped his head as Piers stopped walking and stared at him. “Ash Ketchum, at your service.” Snickering, Pikachu curled his tail around Ash’s neck like a scarf. A scarf powerful enough to take down gods.

“...I didn’t realise.”

“I know. You still defended me, so thank you.” Chuckling, Ash rubbed at Pikachu’s cheeks and watched Piers’s eyes widen as he glanced between them. “I can’t really say I’m humble without sounding otherwise, but I do take pride in my win.”

Piers snapped his fingers. “Humble, that’s the word!” He started a small hum, muttering, “But still the only thing I can do is sing--sing my humble song~ ...You did a crackin’ job at the Manalo Conference. Marnie really idolizes your courage.” Before Ash could even respond, Piers glanced off. “We better get goin’ then.” Ash and Pikachu glanced at each other, before nodding to Piers.

“Sure-!”

“I don’t care if Piers is a gym leader, he still looks like a freak,” someone whispered from the crowd. “Who even is that person with him? Just another loser, probably.” Pikachu hissed at the stranger, before sighing.

Ash stepped closer to Piers, muttering, “Strangers used Mean Look… Guess they never go away, huh?” He gave Piers a small smile and shrug. “You’re not a freak, you’re human.”

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by “You Are Enough” by Sleeping At Last
> 
> Some rock songs:  
> 3 Doors Down - It's Not My Time  
> Seether - Rise Above This  
> Poets of the Fall - Locking Up the Sun


End file.
